


C Major Scale

by OMGitsgreen



Series: Stories of CHB [3]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Fluff, Kayla and Austin aren't helping, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nico is a Dork, Nico would fight the sky if he could I swear, Post Three Days in the Infirmary, Pre-The Trials of Apollo, Requited Unrequited Love, Will is trying his best, apollo cabin ftw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2016-08-25
Packaged: 2018-08-11 01:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7870852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OMGitsgreen/pseuds/OMGitsgreen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He hated that look, because Nico was sure he would do anything for it. Nico also liked that look (just the way Will Solace's face looked, obviously, just aesthetic), and Nico was also beginning to suspect that there was a reason why everyone liked Will Solace (as a friend, obviously, that wasn’t even a question)." Nico goes to music activities with Apollo Cabin, but finds it very difficult to focus due to a certain unrelenting distraction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	C Major Scale

**Author's Note:**

> My favorite things about Nico di Angelo are how he absolutely refuses to acknowledge his own feelings, tries to fight his own feelings and everyone else, and really loves Will Solace. Which is what makes this before-they-get-together fics so fun. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“So where are we going right now?” Nico asked Will as they walked forward, or rather, Will Solace was nearly pushing him towards the amphitheater.

It had been the regular sort of day. Nico had forced himself up from his cabin, dragged himself to breakfast, ate slowly to in order to settle his stomach and nothing more than that, and then had prepared himself to head back to his cabin. However, his eyes had met the blue gaze which spelt his doom. And while he had been trying to desperately calm the sudden sickness which had made his heart start racing (which was obviously the root of his problem) on the way back to his cabin, Will Solace in his dumb sandals and dumb orange tee shirt and with his dumb freckly face and sweet (dumb, he reminded himself) blue eyes had intercepted him mid-crossing. 

“Nico, if you are going to stay at camp, you ought to actually participate in camp activities,” Will pointed out to him with a smile that would have looked annoyed if he were anyone but Will Solace. But of course, Will Solace was Will Solace, so it just sort of was a fond chiding look. His hands were planted firmly on his hips, his feet were stuck to the ground, and it didn’t look like he was about to budge an inch on this.

“I do participate,” Nico muttered under his breath as he kicked a rock with the toe of his boot.

“In sword practice and capture the flag if you are in the mood. There are other activities besides sulking in your cabin,” Will explained with a roll of his eyes. “It’s good to be well rounded, and to get out of your cabin.”

“Yeah, like anyone wants to see me attempt to convince a horse to carry the son of the Underworld King,” Nico scoffed.

“I’m in the mood,” Will said and Nico leveled a glare that would have most likely scared any other camper. But again, Will Solace seemed to be impervious to bad vibes due to his sunny disposition, and instead looked at him with a puppy-dog stare. “And we aren’t doing horseback riding, no Pegasus will be harmed in the making of this expedition. Music is first, and I’m sure Austin is excited to show you how good he’s getting at French Horn. And I would like to hang out with you, if you are in the mood.”

“Joy, music with kids of Apollo, just what my self-esteem needs,” Nico said with a sigh. However seeing that Will wasn’t going to budge, Nico slumped his shoulders in defeat. “Fine, I’ll come. But don’t expect me to play any instruments.”

Will did a fist pump, and Nico could feel himself prickling as Will looked towards him. He knew that look, the smile that Will Solace gave, the curve of his bowstrung lips, the brightness and attentiveness of his blue eyes which were the shade of the blinding margin where sky met horizon. It was the look that Will Solace blessed upon onlookers that conveyed his conviction that in that breath of a moment you were the most important person in the whole world, and there was no other that he was more happy to be with. It was that look which made Nico feel impossibly small and wilted, and to the best of his abilities he looked away pointedly as his stomach wrestled with itself and his face felt hot. He hated that look, because Nico was sure he would do anything for it. Nico also liked that look (just the way his face looked, obviously, just aesthetic), and Nico was also beginning to suspect that there was a reason why everyone liked Will Solace (as a friend, obviously, that wasn’t even a question). He was definitely not the only one that Will Solace could make feel special, and he tried to remind his heart of that fact sternly.

Music class was in the amphitheater with a satyr named Woodrow. At the sight of Nico, Woodrow gave the sort of reaction that gave Nico a terrible satisfaction and went as pale as a sheet and stuttered through the first lines of his instruction. Austin was happy to see Nico, and as Will had said, like a true son of Apollo he was excited to show off how well he was doing with the French horn. As Will explained to him, the French horn challenging for the prodigious Austin due to the fact one has to play a French horn with a left hand. Nico had never had much exposure to brass instruments, and to him a French horn just looked like a regular horn which had lost a match of twister, but considering how nicely the sounds coming out of it were Nico was assuming Austin was doing a good job. 

Kayla and Will were both taking turns with the acoustic guitar. Watching Will pluck the strings of the guitar (so gently and purposefully with his fingers, he had once felt those fingers warm and sweet against his skin) was doing funny things to his breathing, so he turned away immediately, only to find Woodrow looking at Nico nervously.

“Would you like to try anything?” Woodrow half-squeaked. Nico probably should have said no, but Woodrow was looking pretty torn up and Nico didn’t want the satyr to dissolve into a mulberry bush out of panic (and he also didn’t want to keep looking at Will Solace who looked like he was born of sort of fantasy of his with that guitar cradled so gently in his lap and no Nico definitely didn’t have the urge to bash the guitar into the wall and take its place).

“Whatever…is easy. I don’t think I’ll be that good,” Nico warned Woodrow accordingly.

“Of course, of course,” Woodrow said as he flitted around the room before settling on the piano. “Good old fashioned piano.”

Nico sat on the bench, as Woodrow explained some of basics. Apparently they named fingers, which was weird for Nico but as Woodrow explained they needed a way to explain what finger needed to go on what key. And there were 88 of those, apparently labeled in repeating alphabetical order which Nico supposed was nice of them. Woodrow said that C was the most used, which to Nico was oddly annoying because of course even in musical instruments it was a popularity contest. And he learned quickly how to pick out the letters by using the grouping of black keys.

By the time Woodrow was showing him hand position, Nico was getting a weird creeping sensation at the back of his neck. Nico’s hand seemed to already know how to play a 5 note C major scale. By the time he got through with that (when he was able to actually focus on something other than Will’s eyes on his back and the sound of Austin and Kayla whispering things to Will which Will chided them for), both he and Woodrow found Nico could easily get through “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” after a bit of prodding and a few attempts. At that point Woodrow was nearly grinning from ear to ear.

“How wonderful, absolutely wonderful!” Woodrow was half gushing. “You have talent, Mr. di Angelo, no doubt about it. All that’s necessary is proper and steady practice for you!”

“What?” Nico half croaked, looking up and suddenly realizing that all three Apollo kids in the lesson had stopped their own playing and had been grinning at him unabashedly (and possibly had been doing so for some time). “I’m not sure—“

“He’ll be coming back with us every time,” Will swore for him, and Nico couldn’t help but stare. 

“I will be eagerly awaiting that time,” Woodrow said with an equally eager grin.

Nico at this point was feeling as if something very important was being lost on him, and Nico especially disliked that feeling. As Will and Kayla and Austin left the lesson, Nico caught up to Will and grabbed his arm to stop him.

“What? Did you think that was funny?” Nico demanded hotly and probably irrationally. His first response anger at what had to be the obvious explanation for all the weird smiling and looks. “Am I not getting some sort of joke?”

“Nico, what are you talking about?” Will asked having the gall to look confused. 

“Listen, I don’t know what your Apollo Cabin standards are, but I’m obviously not—“

“Time out,” Will said, immediately making the symbol with his hands. “None of us were making fun of you or laughing at you or something. I’m just curious about why you haven’t mentioned that you played the piano.”

“I don’t play the piano,” Nico said immediately and dumbly.

“Dude, you have played the piano before,” Austin added with an enthusiastic smile of his own. “It was super obvious with how quickly you took to the scales.”

“You were doing sort of amazing,” Kayla said as she tucked a strand of dyed hair behind her ear.

“Okay, fine, I don’t know if I have ever played the piano before. Happy?” Nico scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Either way, you should keep coming to music lessons with us. I’m sure someone would help you practice,” Kayla said, giving Will a look, who returned it with a quirk of his brow and looked to Austin who shrugged. Nico, staring between them and their unspoken dialogue, couldn’t help but feel out of the loop. “And we have archery next, so I get to show off my moves. Me and Austin will meet you ahead!”

And with one more weird look between the siblings Kayla nearly dragged Austin towards the archery field at record speed. This left Will and Nico alone, which Nico found both exhilarating and terrifying, and took it upon himself to glare at the shrub which was obviously insulting him by just existing.

“I’m sorry,” Will apologized, sounding guilty and that twisted something in Nico’s heart. “We all kind of get caught up in the flow. You don’t have to…you know, if you don’t want to.”

“I just…I don’t like feeling like you guys are all keeping some weird secret from me,” Nico admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to snap…I just…”

“Natural response, I understand. I promise, it’s nothing that important. What’s important is that I like it when we hang out, and Kayla and Austin like that too. Do you like hanging out with me, Nico?” Will asked more like he was pleading. 

“I guess it beats sulking in my room,” Nico joked but it came out sounding flatter and far more sarcastic then he intended. Nico sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, I do. I like hanging out with you.” 

For a moment there was quiet between them, and Nico couldn’t pluck up the courage to see if he had finally scared Will off. However, Will wasn’t put off. Instead of doing any of the reactions he expected, Will Solace reached out and looped his arm around Nico’s body and nearly tugged him forward and against his side. Nico yelped and tried not to trip over his feet, for a moment Nico was far too close. His chest was fitted perfectly against Will’s side, arm around his waist and half scooping him up, and to Nico’s shock it felt like Will pressed his mouth to the top of Nico’s head but that couldn’t have been what just happened. It had to have been his chin. Will Solace couldn’t have—

“Alright, let’s get going then,” Will said cheerfully and actually skipping as he forced Nico towards archery. “We have the whole day to keep hanging out!”

“Wait—what?! What did you just—?!” Nico spluttered out, his face on fire. “Let go of me, Will!”

“Never!” Will cried out to the camp, as if he was daring Nico.

Nico just kind of went with it, figuring of all the fights he wanted to fight, this was not the one worth winning.


End file.
